Thursday, December 30, 2010

I do not recommend this post for anyone that gets depressed over the Holidays. I will however say that true artists do make one feel alive. They do so for better or worse, but if they touch you they performed well.

Monday, December 27, 2010

In Arizona! In the summer I sent the Pinal County Justice Foundation a modest donation. They were asking for funds to procure weapons for Deputies. So today this showed up in the mailbox (click to enbiggen):

Wow! I have never received any correspondence from any unit of government that ended with "God bless you and, Bless our Country!" All correspondence I get usually has an "Amount Due:" at the bottom! I figure the State Budget might be under a little strain with the upcoming legal fight on the immigration law so I thought I would help in my own humble way.

And Good on Colt for giving them some "stuff"!

We CAN make a difference people! You don't even need a Wookie suit either!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

And from me although I am a newcomer to Blogging I have met some great "virtual" friends here. I have made some mad, but we got over it (I hope). Since the offense started because of here, I posted my apology here.

I have new art in my home because of this connection. I have received great information on one of my passions. I have received words of support in difficult times.

To Tam, B., Supi, stopsign, and all of the people here and those I follow, thanks and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours!

UPDATE! People have asked what instructor moose carries. Instructor moose carries a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .380 in a DeSantis holster!

Looks like the first test of the electromagnet catapult was a success. Prototype launched a F/A18E Super Hornet. Good news for the USS Gerald R Ford - CVN 68 currently under construction as it was designed for this type of catapult rather than traditional steam powered ones.

Monday, December 20, 2010

So a very busy weekend! It was somewhat unexpected and so if you are expecting a Christmas card from me this year, sorry! A repeat of this previous weekend. Congratulations to my 7 new Concealed Carry Handgun students! Even more so for my first time shooters on Saturday! I had a Father, Mother, and Daughter in my CCH class. They were awesome! Good on them!

I did get the tree decorated, but after rearranging a room I could not find the Lionel track that I usually put around the tree. I really don't know why I decorate a tree, Better Homes and Gardens will not be here for a photo shoot ever! Still, here is how I decorate a tree:

Saturday, December 11, 2010

First I must say that my social life took an order of magnitude leap up today. Attractive women, children, and men all started conversations with me that I did not initiate. It took me a minute, but if you are walking around the Southern Railway's largest repair facility that has been turned into the North Carolina Transportation Museum (some call it a small state) you may be approached by visitors if you are dressed so (click on any pic to enbiggen):

None of the women wanted a date however. All questions were along the lines of "Where are the restrooms, what building is this, where can I buy tickets for the train ride". For better or worse I could answer every question.

So I had the uniform on, but to borrow one from J, "I make this look good"!

Solets start with a symphony in diesel minor.

This locomotive is running the 2.5 mile run around the museum for visitors. I did not know they were running "Rides with Santa". That explained the crowd.

So, I am here to meet my machine born of fire and powered by it. A 40 ton 0-4-0 locomotive that was placed into service December 1930. Built by Vulcan Iron Works, here is the build sheet.Belching smoke, steam, and oil some may be repulsed, I am not. She is beautiful! Another blogger puts this into words much more eloquently than I ever could. I simply sit beside a space heater (cut down 55 gallon steel drum with some coal and wood in it) and talk to the people assembled. An unassuming gentleman asks if I am here for the ride and I say yes. He asks if I have any experience operating heavy equipment. I say no, so then he asks if I have operated any farm implements and I reply that I don't know if a Ford red belly tractor qualifies. He laughs and says I will do fine.

My turn and the gentleman that was talking to me says to get in the cab and he is my shotgun engineer! After he loads some Red Man chewing tobacco we begin!

Simple controls, almost no instrumentation. I wish I had my camera to take a picture of the controls but left it with a museum volunteer for pictures. Sometimes doing stuff alone sucks. He shows me the train brake lever. I note that there is not a train behind us and he nods approvingly. Next is the locomotive brake, the reversing lever, throttle, steam whistle and air whistle. I know the proper signals for starting and reversing a locomotive (two short, three short). Again he nods. We are accompanied by a fireman and a young volunteer that loads coal in small piles on the floor of the cab.

So we begin!

Build plate!

Your engineer!

SR 6133 Coming up behind me running the passenger train and all of the children in it were waving like mad (some of the adults too)!

We all of course waved back and I gave a good blast from the steam whistle to them!

Going backwards!

Highball signal is lit! Throw the steam to it!

I have this figured out and working on the glamor shot!

Here is the view from the left hand side of the cab. One of the largest roundhouses still standing in the US.

It was very analog. You worked this by touch and feedback from the machine. The quickest 30 minutes of my life! It was a great thrill to run such a beast! She was well behaved and only required brakes one time. My mistake!

If you get a chance do this! I could not wipe the smile off of my face all day!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Finally! The Colt side is back with Trijicon sights installed. Was it worth a month and a half without it? YES! Hurriedly threw some Break Free on the rails and went to the range. WOW! Big difference over the black iron sights and dead on it! I am not a Trijicon shill, but this was an upgrade that was worth it. I can see what I need to see!

The Smith and Wesson also arrived. Trigger is still loooooong, but seems to break better. Sights and laser are dead on!

Sight picture on the Colt:

Beats the hell out of black iron sights! The front sight is apparently showing off the tritium to the camera! The sights are marked with the nomenclature for Tritium, date of manufacture, and of course Trijicon.

It appears that these have made the laser take a back seat! That is comforting to a person approaching "pre-geezer" stage!

Monday, December 6, 2010

The S&W BodyGuard .380 is on its way back from Springfield. The Combat Commander slide is FINALLY on its way back from Trijicon. I will update later on these two issues. I ordered a Colt Defender in .45ACP today. I look forward to running it!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Tonight after lamenting the total "suckitude" of students to friends I have events that have occurred that once again pull me back into this endeavor. First is Christina. I know full well how hard it can be even after almost 30 years after my first 2 year degree. I will say that I have no doubt that she will adapt and overcome. I truly enjoyed her take on the final presentation she and her team made!

The second event was the fact that a student called me tonight and thanked me for my class ending next week.

The third event was that a student emailed me and thanked me for the same and wanted to apologize for missing the final class because she was hired by Microsoft!

Some of you know that next weekend I get to run a steam locomotive. Not just any locomotive but this one. I get to do it at one of my favorite places as a bonus.

Being the person that I am I needed to be properly dressed for the occasion. I remember many relatives from my youth wearing Pointer Brand Bib Overalls. I searched around locally and was not impressed with Tractor Supply or Wal-Mart selections. So I found this:

Yes Pointer Brand work clothes are still made in the USA in Bristol TN. Fast shipment and they look as good as I remember from so many years ago.Other accessories are needed:

Hat, pocket-watch and work gloves added.

So now for King's Carolina Bill. "Around the turn of the century, Landon Clayton King was raising championship birddogs. Seeing a need for tough and durable work clothing, in 1913, he founded The L. C. King Manufacturing Company.

L. C. King believed that if he could raise championship birddogs, he could produce overalls and jeans of the same distinction. Carrying on the family tradition four generations later, Pointer Brand is recognized worldwide.

The L. C. King Manufacturing Company is proud to make everything in the U.S.A. Having survived two floods and a fire, it still operates out of the original location in downtown Bristol, Tennessee. The employees make bib overalls, coveralls, carpenter jeans, hunting apparel and denim chore coats. Several employees have retired after 50 years of service.

Bill was L.C. King's favorite birddog. Born June 20, 1922, he soon became part of the Pointer Brand logo. He won most of the local field trials during his reign. His pups sold for $50 in the mid-1920's. They also were given as prizes at trap shoots in Bristol. On point he was described as very intense and showed excellent style and character."

I am not advertising for them, but I am impressed that they are still there. Good quality and I think I will buy some jeans from them for work.